


The Depths

by misbehavingvigilante



Category: Naruto
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Asexual Character, M/M, Minor Character Death, Suggestive Themes, Uchiha Izuna is a Little Shit, kinda but also not really - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 03:50:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16824535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misbehavingvigilante/pseuds/misbehavingvigilante
Summary: Tobirama couldn’t exactly been surprised when he had returned to one of his islands and found someone else on it and wasn’t able to identity what they were with a single glance. There were plenty of glamours that masked true forms, from a dime a dozen to something so tightly woven, you’ve never seen passed it lest they wanted you to.





	The Depths

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Helasdottir](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Helasdottir/gifts).



> For [Hana~](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Helasdottir) This is a birthday fic for one of my good friends! I really hope you enjoy this~! And I hope this day in particular finds you well and serves you many, many treats!
> 
> She dragged me into TobiIzu rarepair hell quite a few years back and I had the idea bouncing around since MerMay lol, and thus a TobiIzu Mer fic was born! Also I wanted to challenge myself to making this as much of a TobiIzu ship as possible since if written it's usually in the background of HashiMada, for once I wanted to put the HashiMada in the background and have the TobiIzu be the main focus. 
> 
> I'm still working on the balance between description and dialogue in my fics, but I went back over this piece a few times now and helped polish it back up so hopefully that up the quality. That said, there are still probably going to be some minor errors here and there.
> 
> Also I like know nothing about islands in general so most of what I wrote was based on wiki so I wouldn't count on that to be too immersive since it's probably not all that realistic. 
> 
> Anyways, beyond that, I think I caught all the major tags. I will state for the record here that Izuna doesn't die in this fic, I know in the offical manga/anime he was probably considered a minor character but that doesn't happen here so you have no worries here. That said, if you believe I missed any applicable tags, please let me know!

Despite his half blood, the ocean has always been his home.

Tobirama had never felt drawn to land, finding himself always at ease in the seas instead. His brother had always been the opposite of him, in appearance, personality, so it wasn’t very strange when his connection was to the lands instead.

His only remaining brother, and his own remaining family really, that was. His younger brothers hadn’t even made it to an adulthood. Though that wasn’t that uncommon, particularly in sea beings, where a loss of offspring was almost expected, it hadn’t made it hurt less.

Kawarama had been first, a true testament to the credence of wrong time and wrong place. An impressive amount of unfortunate events had conspired against him in such a way, that there was no way any of them could have known the danger that had been present. By the time, they had learnt there had been an issue at all, it was too late and Kawarama was already gone.

Itama had been a child of two worlds, his two tone hair had signaled at birth that he would embraced with fervor each side of his dual heritage. He had loved the land and the sea despite the dangers of transition always present, had always dole out his attention to both in equal measures. In the end, that’s what had claimed his life. Not as unexpected as Kawarama’s death, but still a painful scar to bear.

Their father had always been a fleeting presence in all of their lives, a man of the sea, but still a man nonetheless thus their undersea world would always been alien and dangerous to him. All of them had met their father, more at their mother’s request than seemingly their father’s interest despite the fact she had borne him four sons.

Tobirama had learnt rather early on, probably early on than either of his parents anticipated that theirs had not been a relationship born out of love, but rather mutual need. Their father had wanted the knowledge you could only get from the creatures of the depths, and their mother had wanted children.

She had a comely form so it was not one that their father wouldn’t have felt any hardship in laying with repeatedly. Hashirama had been born first and by all rights, had been a difficult pregnancy on their mother. It had been a fact she reminded him of on occasion when he misbehaved, tone never malicious, but factual. 

It had taken a year or two to conceive again afterwards, the trauma mostly playing a factor in the fact their mother had to heal completely before she tried again. He was born, and he had been an easier birth, no doubt aiding by the fact she had done this before thus her body was familiar with the stirrings of new life in her stomach.

After that it had been several years before Kawarama and Itama had been conceived. The years that went by nothing to a mermaid, or even her halfblooded children, had been enough their mother thought their father dead.

It hadn’t been true, of course. Their father had lived just had been on the other side of the world at the time. Kawarama and Itama were conceived shortly after, and very close together. Their mother hadn’t even lost the entire swell in her stomach before she was pregnant again putting Kawarama and Itama as close together as possible without having been fraternal twins.

Things had been predictable for a few years after that, their mother taught them what they needed to know, and every once in a blue moon they would see their father. Sometimes, it was on land, and in the company of other humans, mostly. There were plenty of creatures that didn’t live in the depths after all, some looked human but not, some had a human guise, and some couldn’t walk freely on land without some sort of glamour to mask them though even then their alien nature could out them.

Hashirama blossomed on land, like he had never been meant for anything different however his blunders sometimes came with suspicion with how odd he acted. Itama was much of the same, just to a less excitable degree even when he was younger than Hashirama. Tobirama hadn’t liked the land, the feel of something solid underneath him and having to walk upright always seemed tedious to him. Kawarama had been more like him in his approach, however he never looked as uncomfortable on land as he felt.

Their last conversation with their father hadn’t been a particularly pleasant altercation, by that time only he and Hashirama had remained. Hashirama had done something all things considered pretty stupid with a witch but he was his brother, so Tobirama had defended him even if he thought it had been a bad call too.

They never got a concrete answer about what exactly happened to their father only that he never returned. Death was more likely than distance in that case, but he never said that allowed after all their family had already suffered too many losses.

After that, there wasn’t much more for their mother to teach either of them anymore which turned out to be a blessing in disguise because she had died not too long after that point.

Without their mother holding Hashirama to the ocean, he had decided to return to the land and try to find a life there. Tobirama hadn’t been willingly to follow him, though they’d be apart and Hashirama had asked, he respected his refusal.

Age was very different even despite their human blood. They have may matured a little slower, more on pace with how humans did then merfolk tended to, but their lives would be far more on par than a merfolk than a human.

A decade would nothing to either them now that they were grown whereas their kind tended to live for centuries, if not more. There were plenty of predators, humans, animals, and even other beings such as themselves that were far more likely to do them in than something like age.

Regardless of the time that passed, he kept in touch with his brother. Sometimes it meant Hashirama returned to the ocean and spent time with him for a while, other times it meant Tobirama had to take the trek and visit Hashirama himself.

They traded off like that as it was only fair for each of them to bear the journey in equal measure.

His brother loved forests, and was particularly fond of ephemeral and seasonal bodies of waters one of the few callbacks to the other half of his heritage. But too many times given Hashirama stayed on the land, most people didn’t guess his heritage at all particularly after he took up magic.

Nature magic was a pretty good match for merfolk given plant life reliance on water. Magic was more or less open to all, but for some, magic was a blank slate, something they were already born with, or something that was limited.

Merfolk were too close to water, so often certain magics like fire wouldn’t work for them or messing around with it if someone was capable enough to overcome the natural obstacle was asking for issues given they were more sensitive to its effects.

Admittedly, it did help Hashirama adjust to the lands better so it was a good fit even if Tobirama was rather suspicious about why his brother took up its practice, he let it go unspoken.

In return for this, his brother mostly kept his comments about his isolation to himself. Granted, Hashirama also had a knack for drawing people towards him, his charm was definitely from their mother who has passed it on to him. It had been a wise choice after all for Hashirama to choose more populated areas to call his home lest he attracted others to relatively undisturbed, sacred places instead.

It had seemed to skip the rest of them, but with their youngest brothers dying when they did, it was hard to say that for sure.

Tobirama surely didn’t have it, and he didn’t want an ability like that as it sounded like a nuisance. Granted, Hashirama loved people – mundane and otherworldly – in equal regards so it probably wasn’t a burden to him. 

His brother had taken lovers before, of any gender, and any species but for some reason, it just never seemed to pan out for him long term. Again, Tobirama had thoughts about that but he wasn’t willingly to say them aloud.

There was something to be said about a spoken thought more likely to become true than one kept to yourself. He didn’t want to invite any trouble into Hashirama’s life so he said none.

He didn’t need a lover, as he had his studies to attend to. When it came to carnal pleasure that drove some to mate or take up temporary lovers, Tobirama found himself lacking any desire in that department. He could admit some people were aesthetically pleasing to look but when it came to actively wanting to do anything about that, he just felt very indifferent at the idea.

He could have sex, he had sex before more driven out of scientific curiosity than anything. It hadn’t netted him much knowledge, his body responded to the stimuli in a similar but different matter as another person rather than yourself would produce different sensations even if the same gestures happened. In the end, it just had been a middling experience, something he could do, but why do it when there were other things far more worth his time?

After that tryst, he never felt tempted to try again knowing that a repeat would likely give him the same answers as before. There were far better things to discover, the sea was full of riches. So vast and wide, that even a natural lifespan as long as his own wouldn’t been enough to figure out all of its mysteries.

Tobirama collected remote islands to store some of his treasures because some could not safely be held underwater, and had to be maintained where it was dry and likely to stay that way.

Very small islands usually couldn’t be reliable on for much as they were too liable to be overrun by the weather entirety which was something that worsen as time went on. The waters rose and warmed at a rate that really wasn’t normal even given outliers.

Bigger but small islands were better, with a well-defined coast, and inland foliage for cover tended to be better though he had to be careful as sometimes there were those who stumbled upon these islands willingly or unwillingly.

Tobirama helped the latter as he discreetly as he could, but usually clashed with the former. He didn’t like to fight, but he wasn’t either going to let his studies be disturbed by those looking for trinkets of metals rather than books and scrolls of knowledge. Granted, he had some of the latter, but not a lot, it was often the pieces he had to trade most to get information as many, many beings liked shiny things.

It wasn’t wise to wander the ocean without knowing what you could about everything that lived here. He had always asked his mother about what she knew of all things. She had been a seasoned traveler, only forced to settle down within reason when she had kids as they couldn’t trek across the ocean nearly as fast as a single Mer could.

So Tobirama learned, though he could say the bulk of his knowledge stemmed of the creatures in the sea, no small feat given how much variety there was. But he knew of the lands as well to some degree, it was harder to trade in knowledge when it came to that, when most of the creatures he ran into belonged to the sea or were rarely visiting.

Mostly it was Aves who frequent the seas and the lands that had been most forthcoming with the data and very, very likely to accept shiny metals in return for what knowledge he sought.

So Tobirama couldn’t exactly been surprised when he had returned to one of his islands and found someone else on it and wasn’t able to identity what they were with a single glance. There were plenty of glamours that masked true forms, from a dime a dozen to something so tightly woven, you’ve never seen passed it lest they wanted you to.

Human however was probably unlikely, this island in particular had strong currents surrounding it making it much more likely to be dragged out into the sea than towards the island. The inclement weather that unnaturally surrounded the island could sink ships but he would have notice the debris along his journey.

This island fell in between in size with his array of islands. It was wider across than it was length wise resembling a rugged oval shape suiting it was a skerry, it had foliage and it’s underfoot could be softer ground than the rock. Still it was rather sharp in some places and if you didn’t know where you were going or lacked the protective gear it was very easy to cut yourself. It had been part of the reason Tobirama choose it to begin with given how it had its own hostile landscape to prevent visitors leaving less work for him to do. 

The human visage meant this was probably an otherworldly creature of sorts. But making such an analysis with limited data would likely yield no reputable results.

Tobirama wondered how best to approach this topic but the choice was taken out of his hand. The voice was not particularly loud, mindful of his hearing or perhaps a thought spoken out loud rather than one really meant to be heard.

“It’s rude to stare, you know but then again, I can’t blame you for staring either.” The voice called having down some from one of the higher points of the island where the rocks were smoother and easier to sit or lay down against if wanted.

A flirtatious remark but what was more telling is his hiding spot had been discovered. His head had barely peeked out of water, enough to round out the elongated curve of his ears and to pull back the transparent nictitating membrane as it tended to cloud his vision above ground than rather aid in clarity. His eyes dilated underwater to help with his sight but above ground they contract into something more rounded and helped him blend in with humans.

Not that was necessary given his half human blood that already lent his human form naturally, but still, not many people had the eyesight to pin him down.

Or started off an introduction by flirting with him, either. Tobirama didn’t want to encourage that more because he was dealing with an unknown person and flirting could suggest much more familiarity that he wanted to extend. Though it could also be a possible explanation for this being appearance, though that endeavor would likely prove fruitless. Though, it could be a quirk of personality too. Some people were flirtatious with no intent to follow through, if anything that would be more apt in Tobirama’s case.

“What do you want?” He asked his teeth shortening from their pointed form back into something blunter and better suiting to grinding food than ripping flesh from sea creatures he ate.

“Direct.” A smirk flitted across their pale features, but not as pale as his own. “I like that. Then again, I suppose I did crash your study.” Not that he sounded very remorseful over it, at least it seemed from what Tobirama could tell nothing had been disturbed meaning his wards had held which might have been why this had turned into a verbal conversation.

“I was told you were rather good at collecting things however that you were slightly unsociable. I’m not particularly patient so I couldn’t have waited for a more natural meeting.”

“Why?” Tobirama was being deliberately concise because he didn’t want to spare any extra words when there were so many unknown quantities at the moment. 

“There’s something I need. However, I’m not a thief so I am willingly to trade with you. If the ocean is your home, then surely you must know less about the creatures that walk the lands, right? I can offer a compendium of such said knowledge.”

Compendium would be broad but brief knowledge, it would be a handy tool however there would be limitations in its use however Tobirama couldn’t say the idea as a whole disinterested him.

“What is it you want in return?”

“Ocean essence.”

Ocean essence was one of the most counterfeit items underwater, it was very easy to fake and without a careful eye one wouldn’t be wiser to its fraudulent nature until it was too late.

It made sense to ensure purity by seeking out a creature of the sea. Tobirama always had some in stock given it was useful to have that connection on land. It helped settle his nerves.

Still, ocean essence would have likely been considerably easier to get from someone else. Tobirama knew he had a reputation despite being perfunctory about keeping his contacts as it was a burden of the trade, he had to speak and deal with others or else he would have never been able to build up a collection as much as he had, he was known for keeping his word.

However, Tobirama didn’t deal in unknowns without at least some knowledge to guard himself with. “What’s your name?”

“My real name, you mean.” He surmised wisely. “Well, I suppose that’s not too much of a hardship. I’m only giving you my first and true name. Even as isolated as you are, I’m sure you’re quite resourceful, so I’m sure you can understand why I won’t be telling you my full name.”

Tobirama hadn’t expected otherwise. It was a small chance that it could have been offered freely but he would have expected its falsehood instead. Names held power, not as much power as some people liked to believe however they were rather useful for hunting down people.

It was why you never gave your full name if you were prone to pissing off someone or else misfortune would follow you.

“Fair enough.”

“I’m Izuna.”

Tobirama didn’t offer his in return because if Izuna had gone through the trouble of locating him, he had already figured out his name. Tobirama had used aliases over the years but with a distaste for glamours, it had been unavoidable. Something about the magic, never sat right with him ironic given he did have a shifting nature to begin with but sometimes there were just quirks like that you had to learn to live with. There were ways getting around glamours that he had exploited. 

Tobirama was always of the opinion that less was more so despite the discomfort and the fact he preferred the transition from water to land with some degree or privacy. It always left him feeling exposed not in the way of modesty but with the highlighted danger of transition to their kind made him naturally a bit hyper vigilant about such things.

However Tobirama knew how to keep an external picture of composure and ease leaving none the wiser. If he could fool Hashirama, he could fool anyone.

The first change came from the gills on his neck fanning inwards to become as seamlessly at the rest of his skin as he approached the shore. He pushed his hair back that had come to stray close to his eyes with one of his hands that erased the webbing between them back to empty spaces between them instead and removed the claws to the smooth arcs that humans were known for instead. The most pronounced change was always the most uncomfortable switching from his dark blue fin to two legs that made it considerable easier to get around with land with.

Despite the transition, there was never a threat of indecency as clothes were noted for being the mark of mankind came along with it. Truly leading to less uncomfortable incidents on land due to a bit of mermaid magic. 

Tobirama choose a simple but practical black outfit as its use could be various and wouldn’t mark him as suspicious regardless of most environments.

“Come with me.”

Izuna rose at the order, following behind him at a polite distance.

Tobirama preferred to keep an eye on people he was wary of rather than let them lurk around to their hearts desire. Granted, if Izuna had been able to travel here that spoke of some amount of skill to begin with even though it wasn’t immediately obvious what he was.

His scent was neutral, in the unnatural way meaning it was being concealed. A blank spot in the world where there was definitely something but not if you weren’t paying attention.

Good glamours hid scent. Tobirama wondered what Izuna had to hide but then again, people were entitled to privacy.

“I didn’t expect a closer look.” Izuna’s dark black eyes were alight with interest, how that interest would pan out would be telling of his character. Perhaps this would be their only trade.

Some clients were one off opportunities for a variety of reasons, sometimes it boiled down to anonymity the more paranoid of the bunch never wanting to get too familiar with anyone who recognize them or sometimes it just filled a need that never came about again thus there was never a need for a second visit.

It could be hard to tell which one was which from the first meeting alone, sometimes it was obvious, other times obscure. 

Tobirama lead Izuna further inland, not that it was that much of a walk but the foliage was below and above them until they came to a clearing where it didn’t disappear entirely but fanned out some leaving it easier to maneuver but without pointing an obvious bullseye from above where he kept his things.

He detracted from the tropical setting as least as possible not to draw in additional attention hollowing out a palm tree and in its husk using a same wood container to mark it as a little container had been discreet though not entirely unobvious. Very akin to camouflage that animals employed to hide themselves it was difficult to spot, but once you did then you couldn’t believe how you missed it to be with.

Tobirama retrieved the vial from inside as it had been relatively low priority, the security surrounding the item wasn’t very extensive nor was it grouped with anything above that level. He employed a tiered security system just in the case, someone could breach one that they wouldn’t have the same guide to breaking into another, nor could they expect the same fight to breach it.

The vial was circular towards the bottom until it narrowed out substantially towards the top with a solid cork instead of something more aesthetically looking and fragile like glass.

“The genuine article. Not that I expected anything less from you.”

“The book?” Tobirama didn’t much want to spend any more time on this conversation than he had to. He had already been thrown off today too much for his liking and wanted to get this over with.

Izuna retrieved the book from apparently the deep pockets of the indigo blue jacket he’d been wearing. Tobirama hadn’t paid attention to fashion beyond what was necessary to ensure he didn’t stick out, but it seemed like it could be a natural occurrence rather than something magical in nature.

Another ambiguous thing to add to the list.

The book was narrow, however of ordinary size rather than looking like a journal or something of that nature. In the exchange, Izuna’s fingers happened to brush over his own which had an odd effect on Tobirama. It hadn’t been unpleasant, the barely there brush of fingers had been heated, almost electric but it was there and gone again in a moment.

The siren call of new knowledge and a desire to confirm authenticity though it had the feel of the genuine article, it never hurt to double check had Tobirama open the book and glean it’s words.

Between that and his next glance up, Izuna had vanished.

Tobirama wasn’t surprised though it certainly serve to make him more curious to Izuna’s exact nature. He could discount the hand touch as that was like just a leftover sensation from the colder waters of the seas to the warmth that skin usually held.

Or it could be a sign of touch starvation, but Tobirama didn’t really feel like entertaining that thought anymore once it crossed his mind, that he threw that right out too.

If anything, Izuna’s action spoke of a mischievous spirit.

~

Somehow Tobirama wasn’t surprised. Maybe it was because he believed in the principal if something happened once, it was liable though not necessarily likely to happen again.

However it only served to add more fuel to the fire of the brimming thought he had the other month. It was one thing to appear on one of his claimed islands, it was another altogether to appear on another one entirely.

This one wasn’t as warded as the other had been, it lacked some of the more sensitive items he had collected and instead functioned more as a repository for various goods he had collected over the years. It had been smaller than the previous one which had been big for a skerry to begin with, but not the smallest, crescent shaped due to the influence of a nearby maelstrom that had shaped it as such and kept would be visitors away despite the iconic shape. The foliage it had was centered leaving the edges sandy and warm without much in the way of cover. The weather here strayed more towards sunny and similar than inclement and variable meaning cover was definitely something to consider for long term habitation. Not that had been a concern for Tobirama as he never really stayed that long on any of his islands when it came to areas of rest. To relax, yes, but never really to sleep.

Tobirama wasn’t particularly a material person. The sea had saw to that as it could be hard to preserve a number of items below it, or with the travel he was prone to. Even then, there was always a chance the time between he checked on each of his islands could be too long and he could face misfortune by finding something he had once coveted stolen.

Still some creatures were attracted to the chaos they could stir up regardless of its impact. It would be a small thing to annoy him, Tobirama would think however he couldn’t claim to be an expert on such fields either.

“Trickster?” Tobirama said in lieu of a more proper reply at Izuna’s appearance once again.

It was rude in most circles to be so straightforward without any measure of preamble but Tobirama didn’t care. It was the second time Izuna showed up somewhere he shouldn’t have been so he wasn’t entitled to polite conversation.

“Well, hello to you, too, Tobirama.” Izuna rolled his eyes, making no secret of his annoyance. “I see where the unsociable rumors surrounding you sprout. I can also see why you’d think trickster, though.”

That was neither a confirmation or a denial which smart but ultimately also unhelpful.

“Why is that?” Tobirama questioned, but didn’t pressed, he didn’t imagine that would work on Izuna as it were.

“Oh, no, I’m not doing your homework for you.” Izuna clicked his tongue dismissively as he shook his head. “Show your work, tell me why you think I’m a trickster if you’re so keen on the idea.”

Tobirama however wasn’t much for games so refused to relent. “I’m sure you can guess.”

“This conversation isn’t going to go very far if you refuse to contribute.”

“If you came to see me for conversation then you have sorely misjudged my interest in such things.”

“I know you’re older than you look, but you don’t have to act like such a grouchy old man.”

Tobirama rolled his eyes, the only sign of his temporary annoyance as it had smacked of the childish insults he used to share with brothers. That had stung a lightly, bringing him back to the times in which it hadn’t just been him and Hashirama as it had been for so much longer now than when there was four of them. However that wasn’t what that was about in the slightest, so he regained his composure and was direct in his approach as that would net him something tangible.

“Is there something you want?”

“That in love with your isolation that you want me gone so quickly?” Izuna spoke casually though the ways his eyes lingered on Tobirama told him that other knew how on the mark he was.

Tricksters in particular were known for their sharp wit along with their mischievous spirit so it didn’t entirely blow a hole in his theory. However, the chances of his first guess being correct when there were several elements he still wasn’t sure of was slim, so he moved on from the idea and decided to continue to note down his observations until he could figure out something else. Even if Trickster was a very broad category and could appear in too many forms to name.

Tobirama stared, knowing he’d win the stare off eventually. Izuna’s dark eyes bore into his red ones with an interesting mix of amused and boredom, boredom eventually winning out by how he dramatically shrugged.

“Fine, be that way. I’ll eventually get on your good side.”

“Presumptuous.”

“I know for a fact, I’m quite charming.” A hint of that flirtatious tone from before, but it was here and gone again before Tobirama could do anything more than note it. “But you’re right, I am here for something. Some people are attracted to the story behind an object even the object itself is rather mundane itself, that can be a selling point in itself. I’m sure it won’t do you a great displeasure to trade away something shiny to me.” 

“Something?” That was vague and unhelpful. Tobirama never liked dealing with people who didn’t know what they wanted. “Anything will do? Somehow that doesn’t suit you.”

“And would you know what suits me?” Izuna asked, curious before making an innocuous suggestion. “It may not be for me at all.”

“Then explain what you want more properly.”

“There’s a bracelet that I believe came across your collection. A vine one with little metal sculpted leaves on it. It’s said that it belong to royalty who had it made for their commoner lover, a gardener as if the imagery wasn’t hint enough. The details would make it worth a small fortune because the materials aren’t really all that remarkable.”

“Royalty couldn’t afford better materials?” Tobirama asked more to himself than anything. “Suppose there could have been a crisis particularly if it was during a war or in between contracts for the negotiation of metals.”

“Who knows? Like I said, it doesn’t really matter if the story is true or not. Just need the bracelet that’s attached to the story.”

“So you have clients, too.”

“You could say that.” Izuna shrugged, deliberately not being any more forthcoming than that. 

Tobirama could respect the ambiguity of such phrases even if it annoyed the analytical side of him that wanted to know the reasons behind everything. “And what will you give me in return?”

“I just so happen to have a book about tricksters.”

“You can’t imagine my surprise.” Tobirama deadpanned.

“Certainly would be something to comb through, could help shine some light on if you’re right or wrong. Either way, it’s a good read. Lots of variance when it comes to Tricksters. You have actual divinity, to spirits and even mortals.”

“I’ve come across a few.”

“I wonder if that’s why you flagged me as one? Would love to hear about your travels sometime, if you know, you feel like having a conversation that isn’t just about work for once.”

The backhanded compliment there reminded Tobirama of how Hashirama would sometimes insert passive aggressive comments like that into their conversations though it tended to be an agreed thing upon them to not speak of how much to himself he kept. Hashirama still made the odd comment here and there, as excitable and kind he could be likely borne out of concern than disappointment of how his brother had turned out.

Still, regardless of who it came from, Tobirama didn’t really care to hear such things so ignored that and got back on task, “I accept the terms of the trade.”

“Right back to business, I see.” Izuna raised an eyebrow, but didn’t make any further comments regarding that. “Well, I suppose it is good news so can’t be too upset about that.”

Tobirama produced the bracelet, still wet from the water manipulation he had used to seize it from its well concealed hiding place in a hollowed out place underneath top corner of the island. It was matter of how the lock worked that such a thing was required to begin with only opening with the right water pressure exerted on it. Too little and the lock would fail to open, but too hard and the entire container would burst, ruining its contents with excessive water.

Izuna wordless reached into a more modern looking bag that held a thicker book in length and width than the compendium he had traded for him first by. This time, Tobirama didn’t let their hands touch still guiding the bracelet through a hard water construct instead that got Izuna’s hands wet.

His face scrunched up and Tobirama oddly enough found himself who was usually the picture of composure, giving a quick chuckle at the look on Izuna’s face. He had the same look on his face as a cat that had gotten wet by some accidental mishap.

It was beyond embarrassing to have lost control of himself like that, no matter how brief.

“What do you know, you can show something besides disinterest and scowls on your face.” Izuna looked pleased, far too pleased for Tobirama’s liking.

“No one would believe you.” It was a promise and a threat all in one.

“Yeah, I don’t doubt that actually.” Izuna shrugged off the threat looking amused more than anything else. “Guess that’s another check for the Trickster category right? Spontaneous giggling?”

“I don’t… giggle.”

“Mmhmm. Don’t you have a book to read? Aren’t you going to check to make sure I didn’t swindle you?”

“The last time I did that you vanished.”

Tobirama had been keen not to repeat the same mistake as he had before. Though it wasn’t like he was certain Izuna wouldn’t swindle him, he would be far from the first or last people to try but right now he was a little bit more captivated in figuring out what Izuna was since the other man was trying to keep it a secret.

“So you’re saying you don’t want to keep your eyes off of me?”

“I’m quite certain I would get tired of looking at you eventually.”

“That’s mean.”

A loud distressed squawk sounded from above him, as a fishing bird had apparently dropped its prey and judging by the sound of the descent would have been on course to hit him since Tobirama didn’t want to get hit by a fish he drew from the nearby water supply creating a funnel that would lead the fish back to the ocean. It was much too small for him to be considered anything other than a snack at best.

During his focus, Izuna slipped out unnoticed yet.

Tobirama sighed this time and looked back up at the bird who looked confused at why it hadn’t hurt the sound of fish colliding with hot sand.

Though, that did give him a new idea of what his next guess might be.

~

It occurs to Tobirama that the appearance of Izuna who is decidedly not a trickster after he scoured through the book twice and cross referenced of all the other aforementioned data he had on it, is probably someone he should mention to his brother.

The visit had been preplanned and Tobirama simply hadn’t had a valid excuse to reschedule.

Izuna was a mystery certainly but not nearly enough to warrant Hashirama’s attention. At least not yet depending on how it went, he doubted he would need Hashirama’s help for a matter of the ocean since all their visits such far had been paired by the fact they were surrounded by water.

He felt in his element there.

Much more than he currently did now on the land. The ocean essence hang from his necklace, comfortably concealed from underneath his shirt not that it was warranted given he was in Hashirama’s home at the moment but still.

Old habits die hard.

“So anything interesting happen lately?”

Hashirama was likely just asking a broad and general question meant to illicit a response but given his current thoughts, it put Tobirama uncharacteristically on edge. That reaction caught his brother’s eye, Hashirama may have acted like a fool but he wasn’t one deep down.

“Tobirama?”

“Nothing too unusual.” He stuck to half-truths. “It’s not something I have enough data at the moment to bring to you. I’ll inform you when I have a clearer picture.”

“Well, I guess, that’s fair.”

Crisis successfully averted, Tobirama relaxed slightly because that was a little too easy for Hashirama to give up on. Maybe he was in a generous mood but Tobirama was naturally suspicious so he returned the question.

“How about you?”

Mirroring back questions was a good way to extend conversations, so it wasn’t like his intentions would be obvious when it could be reasoned that he did so just so he and his brother would spent their time together well.

“Huh? Me?” Hashirama asked, blinking as confusion spread across his face. Though his brother could be a bit of an airhead on occasion, Tobirama knew he just as often used that to throw people off and guide the conversation back to somewhere he wanted instead.

Hashirama was a good conversationalist after all.

Tobirama elaborated, “Has anything interesting happened to you lately?”

“O-Oh, well, not really. There’s new spell I learnt to help grow mushrooms better though.” And like that, Hashirama went on for a forty minute tangent about mushrooms that Tobirama kept his face neutral and not entirely disinterested in was a feat in itself though it definitely meant something was going on with his brother. 

However eventually the conversation winded down and it was time for them to part for the night. Hashirama was a bit of an early riser, so he was typically the first to bed. Since there wasn’t much use in a day’s visit, Tobirama usually spent a week or two on land, never much more than that outside of extreme circumstances.

It meant he had the rest of the night free to himself and there were things he could spy. At night, humans calmed down considerably particularly in the smaller, more remote places where there was lack of places opened which lead to a lack of productive things to do.

There were exceptions to the rules naturally, but it was generally true enough. If Tobirama recalled right, this port wasn’t too far off from one they had visited as children.

Was that happenstance given Hashirama’s behavior earlier?

The landscape was very different now. Not a strange occurrence at all given that had been centuries back now. Some places in the world still felt stuck in the past rather than ablaze with the brimming bright potential of the future.

Tobirama noted that on his stroll out perhaps too embroiled in the past, he didn’t realize it was too late that he had seen someone straight out of his present instead.

The moon was full and the sky was clear leaving the blanket of stars amongst them to shine brightly given the distance from the closer cities. Despite the sparse artificial lightning, the night was bright through cosmic energies instead.

Not that it would have mattered anyways, Tobirama had excellent night vision, and artificial or natural light aside wasn’t necessarily when he had such discerning sight to begin with.

He wasn’t sure how long he stayed there, just watching Izuna perhaps it was out of surprise that he couldn’t pull his eyes away from the dark haired? Either way, those eyes landed on him in return and honestly, Izuna could have been as human as they came and had failing eyesight and still have saw him a mile away.

Of course, Tobirama was pretty certain he could rule out. There weren’t many certainties he had but that was one of them.

“Well, isn’t this a surprise. I wasn’t even trying to run into you.” He said with a wave for added measure.

Tobirama took more interest in his hands than the cursory glances he had taken thus far never knowing what Izuna might produce, and if it might ever mean a weapon he would have to defend himself by. There was a glimmer on his fingertips, a sort of holographic layers that might them shine particularly strong under the right ray of light.

Typically Izuna’s nails were a little longer than normal, curved in the way that was natural with growth however not pointed to the degree that spoke of supernatural heritage and typically free of any additional adornments including nail polish. A standard appearance whereas a sense of style could point to an idea of where someone had come from.

And given how their last meeting had ended…

“An Ave?”

“You get bird shapeshifter from holo nail polish?” Izuna’s eyes widen, before there was a brief frown of displeasure before it flitted back to his more normal expression. “If I had my nails done up to have little fangs on it would you think vampire?”

“You appear and disappear in the blink of an eye. Several species can achieve full flight in a number of seconds, others then can do it silently, you’ve made a point to saying I’m older than I look, so I can assume the same of you. Flight is one thing a bird only gets better at with age.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s a backhanded compliment but you know what? I’ll take it.” Izuna looked far more amused than annoyed judging by the hint of a smirk on his face. “Are you sure, you’re not still stuck on Trickster? I mean, you did call me a bird. Quite a few birds are associated with various Trickster mythologies.”

“Doesn’t fit.” Tobirama didn’t elaborate, feeling more confident in his decision given Izuna seemed to be pushing towards that angle which made it considerably less likely.

“But bird fits? Feathered hair hasn’t been really popular in this realm in a few decades.”

“Your hair didn’t factor into the equation.”

Izuna had something of an unusual style with his hair being considerably shorter in the front only to lengthen considerably into low pony tail that lead to his waist, fashioned in an asymmetrical way that meant fully taken down wouldn’t create a picture of symmetry. 

“Ah, okay because I am definitely not the one who has a bird nest for my hair.” Izuna ran a hand through his hair which did look sleek with nearly a blue sheen his black hair as if to prove a point. “That’s my brother.”

“You have a brother.”

“Yes, Tobirama, surely I don’t have to explain to you how siblings work.”

“Considering I had three, no.”

“Had?” Izuna hadn’t missed his slip of the tongue. It couldn’t be help, his conversation with Hashirama had returned to their deceased siblings. Years later, that still came up in conversation rather than something they tried to bury.

It was a way that they both honored their brothers, but committing them to memory rather than to something they could forget as the years went on.

“I still have one.”

“So you lost two brothers. What a strange thing, I lost three.” Izuna sounded solemn, it was never a tone Tobirama had heard on him before. He felt oddly compelled to do something about that.

“It happens.” Tobirama was never particularly great at consoling people, he saw the reason and logic in all things so it got him written off as cold and calculating to some. However to him, there was some comfort in what logic had to offer, it truly was quite common, natural to expect to lose some offspring. In the animal kingdom alone, it was almost unheard of animals that each offspring they could bore would live to adulthood.

“Yeah.” Izuna replied back a little softer than normal before switching gears that it nearly gave Tobirama whiplash. “I’m feeling nice today so I’ll go ahead and tell you I’m not a bird. I like this little of game of yours. I wanna see how many guesses it takes until you either get bored or figure it out.”

“You expect to see me a few more times?” 

“A few? Feeling cocky, are you?” Izuna smirked, looking like he was enjoying himself, and hovering in his personal space. Tobirama would have stepped back, but that would have been admitting defeat. “Besides you enjoy my presence or else you would have tried to drown me by now. That’s your preferred M.O. though if someone particularly pisses you off, you do seem to be good at tracking them down even on land. Which makes me wonder if that’s why you’re around?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“Yeah, I guess you could but you wouldn’t get an answer. Make it easy for me and look away so I can disappear again.”

“No.” Tobirama said, not feeling in an indulgent mood in the slightest.

The startling loud noise of a horn broke his concrete, as such sounds were amplified even in a human visage. Enhanced hearing had drawbacks but typically things were much quieter out in the country.

Tobirama glanced towards the intersection and could even find another car or even a pedestrian leaving confusion at what would have been the reason behind the unnecessary noise until there was a hint of alcohol in the air by the opened window of the car passing by.

Ah, that explained things.

But the oddity of these things happened back to back didn’t seem random either. Allure was one skill and it could count as distraction depending on its use. Most creatures known for that seduced in some way.

Without even needing to look back to know Izuna was gone, Tobirama still eyed the spot he had just occupied, not knowing anything out of place.

He looked back up at the moon wondering what would come out of this relationship.

~

There was nothing quite like the pressure of the ocean against his skin, the feeling of floating throughout the familiar currents, and the sights of stalks of seaweeds and of marine creatures making their way around him or startling at his very presence.

A large sunfish swam by, looking lax and relatively out of it as its species tended to be.

“Wow, that’s a stupid looking fish.”

Tobirama recognized that voice though he had never heard it underwater before, there was a slight jolt of surprise that ran through him maybe at the fact he hadn’t considered Mer on his list at all.

He had currently been considering a seducing creature of some type, and working on narrowing it down, but with this new information, that certainly changed things.

Izuna chuckled. “You should have seen the look on your face.”

“Here I thought you didn’t like water.” Tobirama could nearly recall the face Izuna pulled in its entirety given how recent that was. “You certainly pulled an interesting look on your face the last time I got you wet.”

“Because I wasn’t anticipating getting wet. There’s a difference.”

“I don’t see how.”

“No, I suppose you wouldn’t.” Izuna shook his head. “Let me guess, today’s guess is Mer?”

“It was some sort of seducing creature, however my previous thought isn’t at odds with my new one given Mer can be counted, though aren’t exclusively known as a seducing creature.”

“I’m having a hard time taking you seriously of saying I’m a seducer when we’re so close to a fish like that.” Izuna gestured dramatically at the sunfish who paid neither of them mind as it continued to swim by slowly.

“You could always swim away.”

“Yeah, but, I’m lacking in the fin department here, you’ll definitely beat me.” Izuna gestured down to his legs, the tight material was more akin to what human divers wore than his usual attire. Despite that, Tobirama didn’t think it ill-suited him in the least. Dark colors looked good on him regardless of material it seemed. Maybe it had something to do with his light skin to contrast and then compliment his dark hair and eyes. Color theory never was his strongest point.

“Though I am seriously judging your choice of scenery. Take me to one of your islands next time.”

Tobirama had a bit of delay response to that, too carried away in his own thoughts to process that, a minimal delay that could have been confused for recoiling from Izuna’s bold comment instead. “You came to me.”

“More like came onto you given your current theory.”

“Am I wrong?”

“In which context?” Izuna asked sweetly though it was clear he had no real interest in clearing up either.

Tobirama sighed. “I won’t swim off without you. The lack of fins doesn’t entierly rule out Mer given there are many, many different kinds.”

“I guess you would know.” Izuna said, swimming besides him, slowly as Tobirama had to deliberately be conscious of his moments as to not go so fast. It meant more he had to stop and then swim every few seconds rather than a consistent movement.

He wondered if this was how his mother felt when she had to shepherd them throughout the sea.

“I do know a lot about undersea creatures.”

“Well, you also have human blood is what I meant.” Izuna clarified. “People tend to know of mermaids. They hold romantic notions towards the species more often than not. It’s one of the popular species, kinda appears in every mythology rather than being bound to just one in particular.”

“Not every. Few things are that universal aside from divines.”

His study over various creatures had given him a little knowledge of quite a few mythologies, there were far too many for him to be aware of them all but some themes were consistent enough that Tobirama didn’t feel he was speaking out of turn to say such.

He had never had a problem in letting someone speak if they were more informed on the topic. It was just not something he had much experience with as a whole as his sources weren’t typically living, or at least if they were living, he was merely reading their words rather than conversing with them directly.

Tobirama wondered what all Izuna knew, it was clear he held knowledge of fields he didn’t and yet they still overlapped in some too.

“Good point. So where were you swimming towards?”

“Nowhere in particular.”

“Really?” Izuna sounded shocked, overselling the bit in its entirely. “You can do things without having a reason behind it or you just don’t want to tell me?”

“I don’t know, which answer would you prefer?” It was a bit childish to throw Izuna’s tactic back at him, but Tobirama couldn’t deny it was satisfying.

“Hm, that you can do things without a reason. I’m sure you have your secrets, I’ll probably never know all of them, and the same as you’ll never know all my secrets.”

“Did you actually need something today or were you just bored?”

“You say today like it hasn’t been months since we last met.” Izuna reminded, his tone clipped in the way that suggested he was annoyed.

“I think time is something we both have plenty of us.”

“You’re the one with the human blood. That tends to come with a clock.”

“I know you’re not a Mer if you don’t understand how offspring between human and Mer works then.” That was another off the checklist, three down and who knew how many more to go? Despite feeling confident, it wasn’t as if Tobirama could know with certainty how many more guesses it would take. It didn’t seem too arrogant that he could solve it before it turned to double digits however.

He elaborated because he always felt it important to share than withhold knowledge, most of the time. “We grow similar to human when we were are children, but beyond that we have the same lifespan as any other Mer.”

“Just additional weaknesses, I’m assuming?”

“Izuna, if you’re trying to kill me, you could try to be a bit more subtle about it.” It was then Tobirama realized he had never actually used the other’s name aloud before and what an odd sentence it was to be the first time he used it.

“Well, that’s true.” Izuna gave a slow blink, before a playful look entered his eyes. “I haven’t seduced you yet, I’m supposed to wait until the moment of ecstasy and then use the knife right?”

Izuna’s hand reached between his ribs and sternum, right above where his heart would be resting for the maximum effect of the hypothetical knife. “Right about here, I would think?”

“I see you know your anatomy.”

“Well, I’m no doctor, but I know my way around.” That glint in Izuna’s eyes turned from playful to dangerous told him that he had killed before, more than once given the confidence in which he had rested his hand. “Like how I’ve seen the scars on your chest. Interesting placement.”

“I had a disagreement with biology. I won in the end.”

Izuna laughed, the gesture sending his hand moving upwards right under his neck, probably able to pick out his pulse amongst the watery backdrop. They had gone from surrounded by animal life to shroud by the plant life, giving his moment an added layer of intimacy.

It was there and gone again in an instant. Tobirama found himself missing the gesture despite how bold it had been. That was a strange thought for him to have but it quickly moved to the back burner with Izuna’s next question.

“Did your parents approve?”

“It wasn’t an issue for either of them.” His mother hadn’t fought him on it at all and had helped him along with any transition needs he had. His father had never known because it hadn’t been necessary to tell him, as a Mer, children were rather hard to tell apart until they reached puberty and given the little time he had spent as a human around his father? It had only taken the aid of his brothers to help keep the secret.

Something flickered across Izuna’s eyes. “That must have been nice. My father was a real asshole about it.”

“To be fair, I think if my father had known, he might not have approved. I just wanted to avoid that.”

“My older brother is many things but subtle is not often one of them.”

“You also have an older brother that lacks in subtlety?”

“I love him, but… he’s just so much, sometimes?” Izuna groaned. “It’s not fair most of our bonding has come from speaking about our brothers.”

“I guess I can see how that could be bothersome. Perhaps you should choose someone better for these conversations?” Tobirama offered earnestly.

“Nah, you’re stuck with me.”

“Like a leech?” There were any number of waterborne parasites, but given leeches could be found in more than just the ocean, Tobirama found the comparison most apt.

“Leeches can have medicinal uses.”

“I actually wasn’t giving you a compliment.”

“I know, but I’m taking it as one anyways because I deserve it.”

“I do find conversations with you more enjoyable than with others.” Not that Tobirama had many people to compare it to, but something seemed different with Izuna. It wouldn’t do well to ignore that. “You do have a sharp wit, though sometimes I question your sense of humor.”

“Wow, an actual compliment. I didn’t have to work very hard for that one.” Izuna snickered and then gave a brief smile before it returned to the more familiar smirk that graced his face often.

Somehow the smile felt private, and Tobirama wondered if Izuna smiled for other people that often or if again, he had been off about Mer but not about a seduction based creature. “Perhaps, I’m in a good mood.”

“Or you want something.”

“Or I want something.” Tobirama repeated, praising Izuna’s intelligence internally. “I want to see how resourceful you are so I want you to collect something for me.”

“Interesting. What would I get in return?”

“I’ll give you something out of my private collection.”

“So it’s a surprise?” Izuna tilted his head, however not looking disinterested at the idea.

“It is a surprise. I can’t after all know for certain if you’ll be able to produce what I’ll ask for thus it only makes sense what you’ll get hypothetically in return is a surprise to you as well, wouldn’t you say?”

“That you are a conniving bastard? Yes, yes, I would. But it’s a good look on you.”

“I need dragon fire.”

Izuna raised an eyebrow, “Yeah, that’s about what I’d expect from you. I knew I felt the heat of some of your wards.” He didn’t look guilty by his admission of looking into said wards but then again Tobirama hadn’t expected anything different at this point. Looking was different than breaking in his book, though the former could suggest the latter thus far it hadn’t been proven true.

“Dragon fire is one of the few fires that even the sea has a hard time putting out with ease. I imagine it’ll be useful for warding off against scavenging Mers and the likes. A bit brutal, isn’t it?”

“Well, I can’t always be on standby to choke people.” Tobirama often not looking remorseful despite the truth in that statement.

“Ah, so choking is a more personal touch then. Good to know.” If anything Izuna looked pleased to hear that perhaps out of appreciation of the methods he employed or perhaps taking that another, unintended meaning. Likely the latter knowing him, but Tobirama didn’t comment on it.

“Well, I’ll be off then. Not sure how long it might take to complete your request as I do have some other things to do in the meantime.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

This time, Tobirama turned his back on Izuna in a show of confidence that Izuna would return to him eventually and that he wouldn’t need to see how Izuna appeared and disappeared to figure out what he was.

That would make their little game too easy for him.

Tobirama was enjoying it probably far more than he should, but thus far, there had been no reason to take on a more aggressive approach and get the results out of Izuna quicker.

He might have been artificially prolonging it with this set of rules, but it had been something new and even fun, if Tobirama had to admit it.

His life had been rather monotone lately, he hadn’t really notice how much until Izuna appeared.

He hoped in the end, he was real and wasn’t just a byproduct of his mind reeling from the effects of prolonged isolation beyond the bare minimum aside from spurts of contact here and there.

That fear had been in the back of his head for quite a while now, to voice it at all had been necessary given its possibility.

Eventually, he’d have to introduce Izuna to someone else, and their response would tell him if it was in his head or not and that could be put to rest like that. But for now, he already had another thing Izuna could be in his head.

A myriad of abilities liked that suggested few species, one of which Izuna had already namedropped before given some extra credence to the theory. So he choose to focus on that, wondering how long the absence would be this time until they saw each other again.

~

Toka wasn’t necessarily a surprise but somehow, he couldn’t help but feel disappointed at her appearance rather than Izuna. That of course wasn’t fair to her and not to mention, it hadn’t even been that long since he put Izuna on his quest of sorts. All things considered she was a nice woman, distantly related to him and Hashirama both.

It had been a pet project of Tobirama figuring out exactly how they were related when the records were murky at best. The end result had been that Toka was their third cousin.

She was a stern looking woman with a practical appearance. She tied up her long hair so it wouldn’t be free flowing around her or catching on anything within the ocean, or block her sight. 

“How is Mito?”

It was often wiser to ask how Toka’s wife was than Toka herself first, it made her more likely to open up rather as she could be stoic in a similar regard to him. She looked very different around Mito where you could see the love she had in her eyes for her wife and how she moved around her.

“She’s fine, thank you.” Toka smiled slightly. “Speaking of that… she says your brother is acting odd lately.”

Hashirama and Mito had dated at one point, it had been a rather serious relationship to the point even Tobirama had assumed they might marry until they had called things off all rather suddenly and without much explanation thereafter.

He trusted Mito’s judgement, so her believing something was amiss with Hashirama as well nearly confirmed something was amiss. “I noticed something the last time we met too.”

“That’s what I thought. I haven’t managed to catch him recently. He’s been strangely absent.”

“Last time he started acting suspicious, it was because of a witch.”

“The child witch that burnt down an entire forest?” It was the only witch Toka knew of that had a very notable run in with Hashirama, but she hadn’t actually been around went that down.

Hashirama’s collection was colored by his emotions, so she had to rely on Tobirama for the events resembling the truer story instead.

“I hope he didn’t come across another ill-tempered witch but knowing his luck…”

Toka nodded.

“I hope you’ve been well.”

“Yes, I have.” Toka’s eyes lingered on him a little longer than necessary to the point Tobirama raised an eyebrow in question. “You seem a little different. A lot of the times, you can’t wait for the conversation to end even if I do tend to keep things curt.”

“I appreciate how matter of fact you are.”

“Yes, I know you do. I appreciate the same in you, Hashirama can be very flowery sometimes when speaks.”

“If he’s not actually producing the flowers himself.” Hashirama had the uncanny ability to produce flowers, he often ended up allergic to so it wasn’t a feature of his brother that Tobirama particularly liked the best.

Though he could admire the technique behind it, which was where his admiration ended.

“It’s always a sight to behold. I won’t take up any more of your time, I know how you like to explore. It’s been a while since you last visited Mito and me.”

“I will make sure to visit soon.”

“Until then.”

Had he really changed so much that even his cousin had noticed the difference? Tobirama hadn’t expected for Izuna to have that much power in his life particularly when he was absent.

Perhaps he did actually miss him.

Well, it was normal for people to miss their friends. That wasn’t very unusual, but Tobirama couldn’t entirely remember the last time he had a friend that wasn’t distantly related to him in some way.

Change could be good.

~

“You could have just asked.”

“You know as well as I do that he was getting demanding lately. Needed a bit of a beating to get him back in his place. It’s surprising all things considered that you didn’t attend to it.” Izuna’s eyes narrowed on his brother who at least had the gall to look somewhat guilty in return.

“I apologize for that. I guess I have been distracted.” Madara rubbed the back of his neck, and eyed the skulking dragon who kept blowing weak smoke rings at Izuna who didn’t even react to the pitiful gesture. His disinterest would serve as a further lesson.

“By what?” Even though Izuna had a pretty solid idea that it’s less of a what, and more of a who. He’s been decidedly a bit distracted himself entertaining a half Mer recently.

“You know… Things.”

“Things.” Izuna pressed, enjoying watching Madara sweat.

He never had been the most compelling liar. “Well, I guess these ‘things’ don’t matter if it makes you happy. You do seem happier lately. That only happens when your moods improve.”

“Brain chemistry is a bitch.”

“It really is.” Izuna agreed. “Should we do something about the fire?”

Izuna eyed the still burning remnants of scorched grass with enough embers to catch nearby grasses on fire, even a few trees were cooking, their bark blackening and their leaves burning to a crisp with the ever so odd explosion here and there of seeds popping open.

“Ah, no. These species actually reproduce by fire as long as we make sure it doesn’t turn into an actual wildfire…”

It wasn’t that Izuna didn’t know that some plants were pyrophytes but given that was a broad category which could mean several things, knowing the differences wasn’t a study he had exactly taken up.

Most plants just took measures against surviving fires rather than needing them to reproduce.

However given the fact it had been Madara who asked him to find a vine like bracelet out of a story he was told when he was a child and then who also know strangely knew of plants when they had never quite held his interest before, it was certainly painting a picture.

“I wonder who you learnt that from.”

“Books.” Madara said, too quickly and looking a little flustered. “Well, I better go… check on the fire over there.”

He pointed in the wrong direction, and even walked in the wrong direction before he quickly realized the error in his ways, and huffed over embarrassed to the other side without so much as a word or glance in his direction.

Izuna didn’t stifle his laughter in the slightest. It was far too easy to tease Madara, he almost wished he never met his secret boyfriend, because it would put an end to his game. On the other hand, he couldn’t really allow anyone to hurt his older brother, so eventually he’d have to give the shovel talk to the poor fool, if he spooked from that alone, he and Madara were never going to work out long term.

But enough about his brother’s love life, he got the dragon fire meaning he could see Tobirama again. Surprising him by showing up a little early might be fun, after all. It was a test to prove his resourcefulness after all.

~

It had been maybe three weeks at best. More time had passed between their first and their second meeting, and given that the time apart had only extended as their visits increases, Tobirama had come to expect that.

It was likely exactly why Izuna choose to arrive ahead of schedule, to throw him off though he did indeed have dragon fire in his position.

It was a bit of an archaic set up though practical with fire held in a cauldron that had been enhanced to keep such fire inside and the vessel cool to the touch for safe handling.

It also kept the fire from turning upwards too much and catching any of the nearby trees that littered the island on fire. Granted there was a freshwater supply nearby of a small river that eventually head to a waterfall that would help him put out any fires if necessary.

Not that a water source was required for his abilities to work, he could pull the water out of the air, or even nothing at all but it was a more strenuous task.

“What an old school approach.”

“Are you calling me old?”

“I don’t think you’d be considered old for your kind.” Tobirama added helpfully. “Though your species might not have the same concept of age as most do. Some ages are static, only existing as they ever are.”

“So you’re elevating me to divinity today?” Izuna arched an eyebrow. “Gotta admit, I can’t say I have a problem with that.”

“I meant more a minor god, but I suppose that does fall under divinity as well. You show a multitude of abilities and divinity are often identified by carrying the same traits.”

“Oh, so now I’m a minor god.”

“More obscure than lesser. Some don’t lord around their status, or some get their powers through being lesser known.”

“Ah.” Izuna liked the sound of that better. “But you can’t go around saying divinity without mentioning a domain of sorts. So what did you think it was?”

“Chaos is known for being a rather raw state of change. It works with your mischievous and malicious nature too as chaos is often associated with both. Chaos can appear extraneous to mask its true intentions, and chaos often has an element of sexual charisma to it as it has been the cause for many, many downfalls. Chaos can as well be noted for its resilient and shifting nature as it survives in all environments.”

“So you based it on all your earlier guesses as well.”

“Just because I was wrong doesn’t mean I was off the mark with my observations.”

He could be wrong again but with all the budding evidence in front of him, he’d eventually figure it out.

“Unless I’m intentionally throwing things out there that aren’t actually true to deceive you.”

“Unsurprisingly that just aligns you more with chaos.”

“You got me there.” Izuna shrugged, not feeling too worried about it. “But anyways, I brought you the dragon fire, which means I get something in return. So I want to see what it is. Come on, dazzle me.”

“That’s why you were so excited to come back. You wanted to see what I’d give you in return.”

It made sense, but somehow Tobirama felt a little disappointed at that. He was beginning to enjoy Izuna’s presence outside of their trades which mark it as unique given it wasn’t that way with any other trade based link he held.

“Don’t look so disappointed. I also came to see you.” Izuna patted his cheek reassuredly. “This little game of yours brings me so much joy.”

“You just like games.”

“Everybody likes games.”

“I don’t think that’s statistically possible. Particularly when they’re not my favorite past time.”

“Hypocrite.” Izuna rolled his eyes. “You say that but you play them with me regardless. Usually to be spiteful, but I am of the opinion that spite is a wonderful motivator.”

“You would be.”

“That’s a slight against my character and I don’t believe it’s deserved after I went through the trouble of finding a dragon for you.”

“You’re not even singed.”

“No, but I had a sulky dragon blow smoke rings at me. Smoke’s not good for hair or skin, you know?” Of course, eventually Izuna had lost his once amused mood and glared at the dragon into submission to make them stop but still. “My point is, I suffered for you, so where’s my prize?”

“Impatient.” Tobirama chided but it lacked heat.

Tobirama looked for markers he had committed to memory, a parting of palm trees a certain way, the roar of the nearby waterfall made but only at a certain distance to help him find a particular spot of where sand met foliage.

This island was rather big, not the biggest so knowing the exact location was a must have if you didn’t wanted to be wandering around for upwards of an hour seeking out just the right spot. 

Tobirama leaned down, finding the hold into the ground beneath a thin layer of sand that stayed on consistently due to the sigil imprinted wood that made up the cellar down.

“Is that a wine cellar? Because I think there’s this thing about following strange men into wine cellars.”

“It was. I repurposed it.”

“To entomb your enemies alive and sate your thirst for revenge?”

“No?” Tobirama titled his head, he felt like he was missing something here. “To store things, Izuna. Your gift in particular though you will probably find it odd once you see it.”

“There’s a book I’ll have to bring you next time. No trade necessary. You can always think of it as a thank you gift.”

“To a gift you haven’t even seen yet?”

“Stop building to the suspense already and show me already.” Izuna pushed Tobirama forward, who kept his balance despite being on wooden stairs not that the fall would have done much given it was a sand floor as he had never seen a reason to decorate.

Izuna slid in passed him and looked around the natural lightning of the bright sun illuminating the space nicely given it was a rather small room.

“Do you even have any wine in here?”

“There’s probably a few bottles left.” Tobirama had intentionally left some behind knowing Hashirama’s love of alcohol though wine was far from his favorite, it was always a well-received gift.

“I’m taking some with me.” Tobirama heard the chiming of bottles hitting each other without needing to look around telling him Izuna was taking more than one.

“Just don’t take all of them. I didn’t bring you here to get you drunk.”

“You don’t have enough to get me drunk here, sadly.” Izuna sounded wistful.

Tobirama ignored him, finding the chest in the corner that Izuna had overlooked in his excitement for wine. Granted, Tobirama had been looking around ensuring nothing look liked it was disturbed either. He hadn’t been on this particular island in a year or so, it would probably require an initial and then a secondary, more throughout look since Izuna had appeared before he had much of a chance to take stock of the internal wards and items.

The chest popped open and on the top of the small pile inside as he had left it like time was a white fur lined collar or scarf depending on your point of view. It wasn’t attached to anything else at the moment though it could line armor or clothing quite easily, it was just undersea the fur collar hadn’t much came in handy given he didn’t tend to stray towards artic waters as much. 

Still, it was one of the few material items he had onto despite the years, and it seemed almost strange to gift it to someone else but given Izuna’s like for blue, even if it strayed more towards a blue purple or a blue black and a true black, white would still look good on him too.

Tobirama turned around seeing Izuna happily chugging down the wine, looking up towards the bare ceiling. Taking advantage of that, Tobirama moved into his personal space and clipped the fur collar into place.

Izuna’s eyes met his and his face did look flushed for a second there. They weren’t entirely eye to eye as there was a rather small difference in height between them all things considered. The more notable difference had always been in weight however that wasn’t strange given creatures of the depth had to do something to combat the water pressure. Dense flesh was one of the tricks. 

“I thought you said there wasn’t enough wine here to get you drunk?”

“Yep, but chugging helps speed up intoxication. Here I downed half the bottle, so you should get the rest.”

Tobirama didn’t have much room to argue before the bottle was forced in his hands and Izuna watched him with an impatient, intense gesture until he relented with a small sigh. He let the wine wash down his throat, he hadn’t been too thirsty or too fond of the drink either but it wouldn’t be enough to get him drunk either. Slightly tipsy at best but nothing more than that, hopefully.

Izuna didn’t need to see how he got when he was drunk.

Izuna’s eyes had drifted down to his throat and then back to his eyes again by the time he was done, looking a little less flushed than before and more certain of himself now. “Not bad, right?”

“I guess not.”

Izuna’s hands came to rest on the fur collar, nestling the material between his fingers that now adorned his neck. Those the blue Izuna donned was a different one than his own, it still looked good on him as Tobirama had thought. “This is nice and warm. I mean, I know it’s a sunny island but warm.”

“I thought after seeing you how you reacted to unintentionally getting wet you might like warm things.”

“Cat never crossed your mind, though?”

“Did you want it to cross my mind?” Tobirama asked, there were several different kinds of shifters, cats included however with a notable dislike of water outside of a few breeds who were known for liking water, or the odd individual here and there, it hadn’t seemed like he most concrete gesture he could muster.

Though it was a lie to say it never had when Izuna could very much be the picture of a cat catching a canary.

“I mean, I don’t know, are you into that sort of thing? Humans really are. Do you know how popular cat ears are nowadays? Or the sex toys modeled after certain feline features like barbed dildos or cat tail butt plugs?”

“I don’t really pay attention to that sort of thing.”

Izuna look taken back, then contemplative. “Ah… I haven’t made you uncomfortable, have I?”

Tobirama raised an eyebrow, it was interesting that Izuna had picked up on that so promptly. Some people could be really dense about it as they couldn’t imagine a life not revolving around sex. “No, you haven’t. I’d tell you if you did. It’s not as if I’m a prude. Sex just hasn’t interested me. It can be stimulating or act as a mild analgesic but why have it when I can read instead?”

“Fair point. Sex can sometimes be more trouble than it’s worth. Thanks for telling me, though.”

“I didn’t see a reason why not to. You were always a bit flirtatious, after all. If I had minded, I certainly would have said something by now. I’m not a particularly indulgent person.”

“No, I suppose you’re not.” Izuna shrugged. “This was a nice gift, though, thank you.”

“You brought the dragon fire.”

“And if I wanted to see you even if I didn’t have something to trade?”

“That would be fine. You said, you had a book you wanted to give me. I can look through the literature books I have and see if there’s one of mine you haven’t read before as well.”

“It’s a date.”

~

True to his word, Izuna reappears about a week later and all but throws the book at him. Tobirama catches it with ease, but it seems a little reckless to throw something at him when he’s still in the water.

It’s a little cove formed mostly by a collapsed sea cave leaving a circular area underneath that the sun could reach, and a shaded area beyond that were there was enough sand to act as a very small beach. It was private and small, probably had once centuries ago been around of a naturally coast line but had drifted further and further away.

Soon enough the ocean would probably reclaim it entirely as the sands got a little smaller as the mouth of the collapsed elongated each year.

Izuna seems to think so too because his commentary wanes about literature pretty quickly and before he knows Izuna is asleep on the shaded sands, not overly hot but instead warm to the touch.

Tobirama doesn’t see a reason to wake him though he idly wonders what made him so tired to begin with. Had he been too reckless in trying to return to him too soon? It wasn’t as if he had too much of an idea of what Izuna did in his life only that it was supposed to be close to what he did but if they had never run into each other before now then it likely meant Izuna’s base of operations was on land or on the other side of the world.

Not that Tobirama had always resides in the same ocean since birth, he may have stayed nearby to his origins out of preference more than anything but he had traveled through every ocean, and he had visited every continent even despite his disinterest in it.

Hashirama had visited many more countries that he did, but Hashirama hadn’t visited all the continents yet. It was silly, but it was sibling rivalry at its finest.

He really needed to ask more about what Izuna did. At the very least, Tobirama had a good idea of what Izuna liked and disliked. That was useful information though he could always use more data even outside of trying to figure out what Izuna was.

That hadn’t been on his forefront of his mind which was strange. This was the second time they had met that they hadn’t exchanged a trade of sorts, or at least a more professional trade than one of a personal nature.

So he shouldn’t have switched gears that quickly when he still hadn’t figured it out yet. Four guesses down and six more to goal if he’s to meet his goal of figuring it out before it turns to the double digits.

Not that he’s informed Izuna of that yet, he has no plans to, but the other man is sharp. Those eyes are quite perceptive, then again, this line of business does require an eye to detail.

Still, he reads the story. Binding it in book seems almost wasteful given it’s a short length – that’s only lengthened by this being an abridged version that adds context to help fully explain the dated story - that’s he’s done in around fifteen minutes. Then again, he was always a fast reader, it might easily take someone twice that to finish the same short story.

Tobirama sets the book back down on the sands for lack of a better place as it’ll just ruin underwater and the fact he doesn’t want to disturbed Izuna’s sleep. He’s still sleeping and he’s already read the book so he wonders what to do. Watching someone sleep was creepy unless there was a medical reason for it and he had no reason to think Izuna was ill after taking one nap.

His posture changes and he turns to his side, or makes a half attempt and ends up instead looking like stretched out like a cat with all his limbs extended, loose and limber in an awkward, uncomfortable looking position however his face remains serene.

Well. That added a little more to cat theory.

Tobirama turns around, a little louder than he would have liked because he just said he wasn’t going to watch Izuna sleep and proceed to do just that. He decides to do a few laps on the outside of the cave to clear his head, peeking his head above water in the cover every so often to see if Izuna awakens.

An hour or so later and Izuna is there stretching on the beach, trying to get the sleep out of his body when he shows up again. The book is beside him.

“Ah, there you are. I thought you left.”

“I was entertaining myself while you were sleeping.”

“Yeah, apparently I need to sleep more but enough about me. Did you read the book?”

Tobirama nodded, giving his thoughts and expressions on such a short story shouldn’t have taken that long however sometimes they ended up chatting for hours. That only acting as jumping off point, and literature never quite coming to topic yet again though that had been the intended point of today’s visit.

In the end, Tobirama hadn’t really cared and assumed that they would just get to it another time instead.

Just like he realized it was the first time since he took an interest in what Izuna was that he hadn’t brought it up in conversation.

It just hadn’t come up.

~

“So when you do read, you like to see what humans write about us?” Izuna asked, resting in the tall tree, the canopy blocking out much of the sun and keeping the temperature cool.

Tobirama looked up at him, resting at the edge of an owbox lake that had been cut off from the main stream some time ago. It had been in the process of doing so when he stumbled upon the island centuries back as a teenager and had completely enclosed itself over time.

There weren’t many islands he had that had true jungles on them, this was the largest island under his control, not to mention the oldest island too.

“Not just humans.” Tobirama corrected. “Other species can have their own misconceptions be it from prejudice, ignorance, and deliberate misinformation.”

“Yeah, true, misinformation is particularly present on the internet.”

“Such a wide web of information and yet a lot of it is false.” Tobirama sighed, it was very disappointing in that regard, but he didn’t discount it as a source entirely. It just required very careful sifting through to glean the truth from fiction.

Most of the time it wasn’t necessary as the information was elsewhere too.

“That must have been disappointing for you the first time you browsed it.” Izuna snickered. “In my head I’m imagining you going from the comedy mask to the tragedy mask. That must have been quite a facial journey for you.”

“I am not usually that dramatic.”

“Internet’s fun though, you have a lot of retellings of the classic into new mediums that didn’t even exist a few years ago. There’s this one that talks this classic book from the 1800s and converts the storyline to the modern age through vlogs.”

“Ah, so your suggestions aren’t limited to physical items, then.” Tobirama didn’t tend to use the internet for anything other than an archive. He knew of other sites and maintained a basic knowledge of them mostly so Hashirama couldn’t surprise him by showing him something he had no understanding of.

Tobirama never cared for being out of his element if at all preventable.

“You can read the book first. Sometimes the book is exalted as the be all to end all but on occasion another medium surpasses it in some ways, at least.”

Izuna pounced down, landing like a figure of grace, giving some more credence to the belief there might have some feline in his blood after all. However, Tobirama didn’t have long to think about before Izuna’s posture faltered.

His landing had been solid, and it didn’t look like the fall had been unpracticed, but something was off. It was there just for a brief second, but it was there. “Izuna?” He called cautiously, narrowing his eyes at the other.

“Mm, just dizzy. It can be so easy to throw off your equilibrium.”

That was true but paired with the unintended nap the other day, a bout of dizziness though that could be a rational explanation had Tobirama suspicious. “Are you sure?” He voice his concern aloud, because he didn’t hold his tongue when something needed to be said.

Particularly when it came to the well beings of others, he never cared for senseless suffering having lost two brothers to it, after all.

“Yes, yes, I’m fine. Who would have thought you were a mother hen?” Izuna joked, he looked better and sounded as he normally did but the unnerving feeling didn’t leave Tobirama completely. “I mean, I know you got the spiky hair going on but still.”

“You’re still taking offense to that imaginary insult to your hair.”

“I take great pride in my hair, Tobirama. You should respect that.”

“Are you leaving?” Tobirama asked instead.

“I know, you miss me and everything, but I actually do see other people besides you. You should really branch out sometimes.”

“My brother-“

“Outside of that?” Izuna pressed, apparently he felt strongly about this subject. Then again, there was good amount of study done about having prolonged contact with one or even a few people and how that tended to be negative so it wasn’t like Tobirama could argue.

“I actually am going to see a couple of my own volition shortly. That counts, doesn’t it?” He doesn’t mention that Toka is related to him, distantly, but still.

Izuna nodded. “Yeah, I guess it does. Why are you seeing a couple anyways? Is it a polyamorous thing?”

“They’re a monogamous couple, and our romantic and sexual preferences aren’t compatible.”

“So then that also means you’re single?”

Tobirama stared at Izuna, wondering if he had been paying attention to any of their conversations at all. “Don’t you think I would have mentioned if I was seeing someone?”

“Well, you’d think. It’s common courtesy. It’s definitely something my brother lacks. He’s seeing someone behind my back.”

“Does he think you won’t approve?”

“I don’t know, but it is kinda fun to tease him about it. I want to give the shovel talk though, I haven’t really had the chance to do that since he’s never really been serious about anyone since he was a kid and that was a clusterfuck of a relationship.”

“Mm.” Tobirama said in agreement. “I guess cat’s out given your fall wasn’t that graceful.”

“I told you cat.”

“You can’t prove it didn’t cross my mind before. You just got better at understanding how I think so you knew what my next guess was before I got around to voicing it.”

“You are the kind of person who would keep something to himself until you were sure.” Izuna agreed, bringing a closed, loose fist to his chin to really sell the bit. “And also, have you met cats before? They’re just as ungraceful as they are graceful but I could see how you may lack the personal experience given they probably caught the fish smell and bit you.”

“That’s never happened before.”

“Well, if you’re into biting I can certainly provide that service for you.” Izuna offered like he was doing him a kindness.

Tobirama shook his head. “Weren’t you leaving?”

“If you think you’ll get rid of me that easily you’re sorely mistaken.” Izuna grinned. “But yes, for now, I do have to go. Good for you on picking up on the cues.”

“I figured it was just a matter of time before something somehow drew my attention away from you.”

“You’ve been ruining the suspense and just turning away from me recently.”

“I live to disappoint.”

Izuna chuckled at his turned back as Tobirama sunk under the water to browse the flora that was there. Hashirama had wanted some samples, which brought him back to what Izuna had been saying earlier.

Hashirama took had been serious about another child when he’s been younger. The relationship blossomed fast and hard and unsurprisingly had crashed and burn in the same way.

Their father hadn’t cared so much that Hashirama had fallen in love with another boy, so much as he had cared that Hashirama was exposing far too much personal information and had even entertained the thought of running away with him. It was something out of that Romeo and Juliet play that Hashirama had read as a kid and Tobirama had in turn read, trying to understand where his brother had been coming from.

Now that he thought about it… a hidden relationship could explain away some of Hashirama’s weirder behavior too.

That filled him with a certain amount of dread, not wanting to have a repeat of what had happened last time.

~

Tobirama decided that an out of a blue visit though would be a good way to figure out what was wrong, but would also tip his hand considerably if he didn’t have a good reason for seeking out his brother to begin with.

He could tell Hashirama about Izuna, a relationship he may have should have mentioned by now but it wasn’t as if they were dating. Though it could be argued the act of him making a friend who wasn’t related to him, or who wasn’t an associate in the strictest of sense could be considered a rather noteworthy event in itself.

Tobirama still didn’t quite want to do that, he and Izuna were friends right now but the admission would have Hashirama fixated on that rather than coming clean with his current secret instead.

It wasn’t close to Hashirama’s birthday and the next visit would be Hashirama coming to see him. It hadn’t happened frequently but in the past, Tobirama had move up or move back a visit due to extenuating circumstances.

He could use a client in that case, it wasn’t a real need but he had some that could be very particular about dates so he could make up an imaginary one and given the previous history, his brother wouldn’t be suspicious. With the right questions he could set up Hashirama into a corner he couldn’t back out of and gain the truth with minimal time and effort wasted on his end.

Hammering out that part of the plan was put on a hold by the ungraceful sound of something dropping into the sea. The sound was far too loud to be a wayward bird dropping a fish into the sea before but not so loud enough to be a piece of or even a whole airport crashing into the ocean.

It was sudden in a way that was unnatural, a blip into existence that was familiar with how Izuna had appeared thus far. Tobirama had rationally known there was some kind of teleportation going on, but it had always been subtle, given Izuna the element of surprise because he was a little shit who liked to startle people.

But this was different and the blood he smelt was worrying. A drop of blood could be scented from some distance depending on species, but this large of amount would attract many would be predators because it was an outpouring of blood.

The scent was flickering in the way that spoke of a failing glamour showing signs of wear but not quite enough to pinpoint down specifics. Tobirama followed the blood to the sinking body of a familiar form. In theory, Izuna had in the past survived underwater but that had been conscious, there was a degree of harm one could inflict moving a body when you’re weren’t sure the damage someone had but given the greater harm could come from drowning?

Tobirama took the risk, he wrapped his arms loosely around Izuna’s waist and broke to the surface quickly but mindful of decompression sickness or its ilk even if at this depths that likely wasn’t a concern, he was still mindful of any danger.

Not wanting anything else to happen to Izuna.

Instead of speed swimming often was very disorientating if not damaging to any unaccustomed to it, Tobirama manipulated the water instead. Propelling them forwards but with less demand on either of their bodies instead they hit land. Well, a sandbar more than an actual island. It was devoid of any plant life, and instead was just a thin stretch of land longer than it was wide, it resembled vaguely a rounded diamond but there was more than enough room to have Izuna stretched out and out of the ocean entirely.

The sun had set a few hours ago but it had been a moonless night so this far out, it was rather dark but again that wasn’t a deterrent to him. His pupils narrowed making the most of the sight he had as he tried to overlook Izuna finding the source of the blood and managed a possible fix. There was a limit of what he could do on a sandbar, it was under his domain yes but it was more for impersonal meetings when he really wasn’t sure of how troublesome a client might be so it was devoid of anything of interest. Deliberately void as an act of trust to see if anything would be disturbed with the knowledge of the location used and sometime a hint here or there about a buried treasure as an extra nudge.

Rather than one wound there were many appearing as fissures in the skin in which blood was trickling to the surface slowly. It wasn’t that any of the cuts were all that deep, but given the sheer amount of skin they stretched over, it had been a significant proportion of blood loss. Not enough to be life threatening but enough that effects would begin to be felt, pair that with the fact Izuna hadn’t seemingly been feeling the greatest lately, it didn’t seem coincidental.

Not when Tobirama knew of a curse that acted in a near identical nature. There was a reason why it was commonly warned against pissing off a witch, there were a great deal of magic available them and many of them wouldn’t think twice about cursing someone they felt had slighted them in some way.

This curse in particular was a fan favorite of born witches, it was an ancient curse that had probably taken inspiration from the plagues of centuries past and that had been around since the dawn of time.

Cracks in skin and bleeding from orifices tended to be rather dramatic after all.

Izuna had been amused at the cat suggestion, and there was a well-known camaraderie between cats and witches. Among others, but that one had become one of the most famous one at the very least. It had become popular enough that it was a staple of media in many countries.

If it was a curse, then it likely wasn’t contagious so Tobirama wasn’t putting himself as risk looking Izuna over. Curses tended to be singular in their focus as that had the most effect from what he knew. Admittedly, this was Tobirama’s strongest subject but he had taken a special interest in it after Hashirama’s run in with a witch when he’d been younger and then his ever present interest in magic from then on.

Tobirama blinked, the answer was obvious. Izuna’s appearances and disappearances, his adaptability to multiple environments, his interest in magical abilities and the ability to track down such items himself.

He was a witch. A born witch. 

Witches came in two varieties one relating to the species itself that was born and would always be a witch, and the second delegating it’s meaning to anyone who picked up the practice of magic which left it as a very, very broad categories as the term witch was gender neutral and how it didn’t override what species one could be but rather added to it.

Tobirama relaxed at that, which completed the mystery of what Izuna was though he hadn’t appreciated the circumstances that lead to the reveal in the least. However, a born witch wouldn’t die from the curse as much as they would be inconvenienced by it. The curse could on occasion cause disfiguring so it was likely that someone had thought Izuna needed to be a little less prideful about his appearance thus why he’d been struck with it to begin with.

Likely it was an affliction that Izuna could overcome himself but Tobirama felt like it was probably a good idea to get Hashirama involved as he was actually good at healing both with magic itself as a practicing witch and with his Mer side.

That thought was put on standby by the red eyes flashing open to meet him, the blood that surrounded them made the look even more potent, but the overall amount was small at least.

Less bloodshot eyes, and more blood just sluggishly pouring from them in tune with the rest of skin fissures. Still, it meant things were likely turning internal and growing a bit more serious if he wasn’t wrong.

Tobirama paused not out of surprise but memory, Hashirama had met a dark haired witch with red eyes when he’d been younger. A witch with an affinity for warmth just like this one.

Was it possible they were the same person?

“So you’re a witch.” Tobirama said, having to make an effort to being calm because something about the thought didn’t sit right with him. It was mostly out of the fact he’d known his brother’s feelings for that witch had been genuine even if perhaps misplaced so Izuna being one in the same, if true, left him very conflicted.

But then feeling conflicted by that suggested he had feelings of a similar nature and he wondered, had they really known each other long enough for that? They’d met a handful of times for business and then even less for personal reasons but was that enough?

Regardless of his feelings he knew he couldn’t love Izuna so quickly, but the interest in forming a romantic relationship? That may have been a valid conclusion.

“The red eyes are a dead giveaway though.”

“I knew before you opened your eyes.” Tobirama said truthfully. “Now’s not the time to be arguing about that. What can I do to help?”

“You might want to stop touching me for a moment. Wouldn’t want to burn your delicate fish side.”

Tobirama retreated his hands but made no other move to retreat from Izuna’s side. He merely raised an eyebrow at that before shrugging. In a moment’s notice Izuna was a living conflagration, a deep orangish red engulf his body, not touching his hair or his clothing as the smell of burnt flesh greeted his nose.

He took a closer look and saw how the fissures sealed up, raised and raw from burn to looking no different than the rest of the skin within a few moments as the fire on him faded.

“Fire is also rather purifying. Don’t know why people only associate that with water.” Izuna rubbed at his eyes, the blood collecting on his hands only to disappear in a small burst of red as well like the embers of a dying flame.

“So that’s it?”

“Mmhmm. The curse would never took in the first place if I had been observant.” Izuna looked to the side, appearing pensive. “I should paid attention more, even you were calling me out at ignoring the obvious signs. I didn’t piece together the clues until it was too late. Magic can be really sneaky like that.”

“Like a virus.” Tobirama provided. The avenue of infection though magical in nature seemed the same as how viruses behaved.

“I’m a little insulted right now but it’s not as if the comparison doesn’t work.”

“And the witch who cast the curse?” Tobirama wondered. “Though I suppose you’ll either curse them back or just kill them?”

“Why? You interested in some good old fashioned revenge?”

“I could be persuaded.”

Izuna grinned. “This is why I like you.”

That brought back to reality the thought that his rightful concern for Izuna had overtaken briefly. “I believe you may have met my brother already.”

Izuna raised an eyebrow, the change of topic seemed a little too deliberate to not connected to something Tobirama had just worked out. “Oh? How?”

“When you were kids.”

“I suppose that’s possible but what makes you think that?”

“My brother met a witch when he was younger who looks very similar to you from what I was told.” In truth, Tobirama had never actually caught a glimpse of the witch, not that it had been necessary when Hashirama gushed without even really being prompted nearly waxing poetry about the other.

Tobirama may have let some of the more worrying behavior slide because it had been the happiest he’d seen Hashirama since their brothers had died even though in the back of his head, there was something warning him of danger.

A forest burnt down was a far easier casualty to accept than his brother but it had still been far too close for his liking. If he was right, if Izuna was the same person, that was also bound to strain their relationship.

“Your brother didn’t happen to have a bowl cut when he was younger did he?”

“Yes.” Tobirama didn’t like the conversation had turned this way but it was better to know now rather than later. It would save a lot of awkwardness and whatever his feelings were he didn’t want to hurt his brother more.

The fact he was considering his own personal feelings above the possible danger of reintroduction spoke to the seriousness of them. Tobirama rarely let his own feelings overcome his reason like this.

Izuna laughed and Tobirama couldn’t feel much relief at the sound.

“Oh gods. This is rich. This is like one of those movies, from the people who make the cards! I’m so tempted to sell the idea and sit back and watch the money flow in. Creative copyrights can be hell though so maybe not.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“That wasn’t me.” Izuna said, sobering up after his fit of laughter though still looking like he had to restrain himself to get his words out evenly judging by how held a loose fist to his mouth stifling hidden laughter. “That was my brother, Madara. The one with the bird’s nest for hair, the one with the bad temper, the one who’s been hiding a plant loving boyfriend behind my back?”

“…that does sound like my brother. Did he go on a tangent about mushrooms?”

“That would explain why Madara suddenly started to hate mushrooms.”

“His name is Hashirama. He practices nature magic, mostly. His hair is better now.”

“Oh, I know. Madara is much more of a fashionista than I am. He must have roasted your brother constantly when they were kids. But then he still fell in love with someone who had a bowl cut hair.” Izuna giggled, ever the picture of a younger sibling who had figured out something embarrassing about their older sibling. Tobirama had his own expression when that was the case but his own was much more reserved. “I’m never letting him live this down.”

“If you’re laughing that much you must really be feeling better.”

“Oh, it’s also your face.” Izuna pointed at him. “You looked so sad when you thought I was the one your brother met as a kid. I mean, that is what you were thinking right?”

Tobirama felt his lack of a reply was answer enough.

“But in a way, I’m glad we had this misunderstanding. It helped me figure out something important?”

“What’s that?”

“That you’d probably kiss me back.”

Izuna made no move to act on what he just proposed in a way, it was something Tobirama was thankful for. He wasn’t much for sudden affections, and taking a moment to process his own feelings and double check them and see if they matched up to what Izuna proposed was nice. Not that he hadn’t been rather sure in the first place he wasn’t averse, but still the gesture was nice.

“That’s a sound observation.”

Izuna chuckled. “What a very you way to phrase it. Have I ever mentioned I’ve been really fond of these markings before?”

“I know I’ve caught your eye on them once or twice. They’re distinctive.”

“Red is a good color on you.” Izuna brushed his fingers against the markers on either side of his face ignoring the one underneath his chin for a moment. Tobirama took advantage of the gesture to move in and towards Izuna leaving some space in between so that their lips didn’t quite meet but leaving his intentions clear.

“Also on you.” Tobirama said softly, no need for loudness this close. It was the first time there’d been a change in his eyes, the red in Izuna’s eyes was a richer red than his own and glow unnaturally signaling his otherworldly heritage.

Izuna leaned in further so Tobirama took that as the sign to make the first move. It had been a while since he last kissed someone but it wasn’t unpleasant. Izuna’s lips were soft and warm. 

Izuna pulled back first, only to peck his lips again for a quick second.

“That was the right call?” Tobirama asked, looking for confirmation.

“Yep. Glad to see you are capable of making the first move. I wasn’t sure if you would or not, so it was a pleasant surprise.”

“That’s good. So what is the nature of our relationship?”

“Dating?” Izuna asked. “I mean, I suppose we don’t have to put a label on it immediately but something tells me you would prefer labelling it.”

“My concept of dating means exclusive. Does that align with your own view?”

Izuna nodded. “I mean, I tried a poly relationship in the past but it was never the right fit for me. It’s a misconception to assume that they’re inherently better when in truth it’s just that monogamy isn’t for everyone which is the same of polyamory.”

“If we’re in agreement, then I don’t see a reason we can’t date.”

Izuna chuckled. “You know what we should do? We should steal the thunder from our brothers first and tell them we’re dating.”

“Without telling them we know?”

“Unless you’re prefer to wait and see until they reveal the truth to us and have our own fake relationship to spite them?”

“You’re assuming we won’t have outside interference.” Tobirama was pretty sure he and Izuna weren’t the only players in this particular play. “My cousin is married to a woman who Hashirama nearly married. She’s grown suspicious too.”

“Really? What’s she?”

“I don’t know, why don’t you figure it out?” Tobirama offered. “She would enjoy toying with you.”

“Aw, come on, isn’t it sort of our game, though?” Izuna pouted, it should have been a picture of childish but rather it looked cute on him instead. 

“I don’t think you have the monopoly on such a thing.”

“I mean, I could get the monopoly. There’s probably a spell but one of that side would be massive and my family’s always been better with fire magic, amongst others.”

“This explains how your brother burnt down a forest as a child.” This would likely always been a point that Tobirama brought up when he could because he, like Izuna could occasionally be a spiteful person too.

“Eh, that story is a bit more complicated than you think. However it’s not really my place to reveal though I will say if Madara’s told your brother then that’s a good sign for their relationship.” Izuna switched from sympathetic to smirking very quickly it would have given him emotional whiplash if he didn’t know him better. “You have to understand I’m still giving him the shovel talk.”

“That’s fair considering I’m giving your brother the shovel talk.” Hashirama was his only remaining sibling left and though he was younger than him, Tobirama was still fiercely protective over him.

Izuna laughed. “I can’t wait for you two to meet. I have a feeling it’s going to be a lot of glaring. Also you can’t rely on alcohol to put him in a better mood unlike with me, so I’m just telling you ahead of time that’s a bad strategy.”

“That’s fair. You don’t want to see how Hashirama gets when he’s drunk.”

“I’m more interested in how you get when you’re drunk.”

“If I’m lucky, you’ll never know.” Tobirama had enough blackmail material on Hashirama to ensure he never spoke of how he get when he was drunk.

“Well, now I have to see what you’re like.” Izuna grinned. “The suspense is too rich.”

“Don’t you have some other book recommendations to give me?” Tobirama asked, unsubtle with his hopes for a change of subject but still willingly to try it regardless. It wasn’t as if he could just swim off and leave Izuna alone so quickly after his recovery.

Assuming Izuna in truth was fully recovered, he should be, but Tobirama did worry given Izuna’s love of ambiguous statements.

“I will find out eventually you know.” Izuna stuck his tongue, but shrugged relenting in that pursue for now. “I guess it depends, did you ever get to all the ones I offered? It’s not as if you’re a slow reader.”

“Neither are you.”

“Have you seen the length of some spell books before? I mean, some of them will literally try and eat you if you’re reading too slow.”

“I don’t think I’ve heard of death by book before.” Tobirama may have heard of death caused by something withheld in a book, or used a book for inspiration for some terrible crime but never the book itself having been the culprit.

“Really?” Izuna blinked. “That’s a surprise you haven’t run into one before. Guess it’s lucky you have me now! I would never let a book eat you.”

“I assumed you were the greater danger anyways.”

“Well, I would never want you assume that I wasn’t a threat.” Izuna’s red eyes gleam dangerously for a moment. “So anyways, let’s talk revenge. You have a delightfully sharp mind and a taste for spite like me so I’m sure we can brainstorm together a suiting punishment, don’t you think?”

“Depends is it nonlethal or lethal?”

“I want see how creative you are, so let’s do both for now.”

Tobirama chuckled, perhaps he should think it odd on the same date he got a boyfriend that they’d be so openly discussing either mutual torture or death but somehow it was rather suiting.

Hashirama could disapprove of his more bloodthirsty side at times always believing the best of people but Tobirama knew better, that there weren’t some people that would change and leaving them alive would only result in more chaos and casualties down the line.

Still, the new relationship was something to nurture. “Does this count as a first date or were you thinking something more traditional?”

“Eh. Why don’t we see how revenge measures up against a first date that you plan? Whichever’s better will be our official first date regardless of timing.”

“Also probably to have one we can use for casual conversation?”

Tobirama wouldn’t exactly consider himself an excellent conversationalist but darker subjects like torture and death did tend to be terrible icebreakers. Well, depending on the crowd.

“And this is how I know we’ll work as a couple when you’re so good at reading me.” Izuna pointed out with a smile on his face. “Ironic considering my family is supposed to be known for our eyesight.”

“I did never get your last name.”

“Tell you what, I’ll tell you my last name and if you tell me what you’re like when you’re drunk.”

“No.” Tobirama shook his head. He wouldn’t be doing that. “If you’re feeling up to it, there is an island of mine nearby since I know you do complain about the scenery sometimes.”

“Are you kidding? This sandbar is something right out of a popular pirate movie.”

“These vague references of yours still don’t mean anything to me.”

“It’s because I’m intentionally trying to tempt you into giving into curiosity and figuring it out yourself but I’ve learnt you’re very stubborn.” Izuna sighed halfheartedly. “So I have to do all the work around you and introduce you to them myself.”

“Sounds like so much work.”

“It really is. The date you put together better be worth all my efforts.”

“I’ll certainly try my best.” Tobirama would probably have to consult with Mito since she could keep a secret, and they were all still figuring out how to deal with his brother’s hidden romance nonsense.

He knew a fair share about Izuna so pair that with the knowledge of what counted as good dates and Mito’s aid it should be satisfactory.


End file.
